Foreign Policy Leadership Research Articles

The Changing Role of Leaders in Chinese Foreign Policy Making Process

China has experienced a long period of rapid economic development. As a result, China has become one of the world's most important economic actors. The transformations China has experienced have made the foreign policy-making process quite complex. In the Chinese political system, leaders have always played a critical role in foreign policy making. However, the role of the leader has become more important since Xi Jinping came to power. This article mainly examines how Chinese leaders, and Xi Jinping in particular, play a role in foreign policy making. This study basically seeks to answer the question to what extent Chinese leaders have power and influence in foreign policy making. China's current economic and political structure does not allow leaders to come to power who would cause major upheavals in the overall direction of the country. This study basically argues that no matter how powerful they try to be, Chinese leaders have limited power and influence in foreign policy making. This study is based on constructivism’s analysis of the agent-structure problem.

Assessment of Nepal’s Foreign Policy and Diplomacy towards China and India

The present foreign policies of Nepal are based on the Charter of the United Nations, non-alignment, principles of Panchasheel (peaceful co-existence, mutual respect for territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence; non–aggression; non–interference in each other’s internal affairs and Equality and mutual benefit), international law and the norms of world peace, taking into consideration of the overall interest of the nation while remaining active in safeguarding the sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence, and national interest. The foreign policy of Nepal has been changing over the years. After unofficial blockade of immediate neighbor India, the challenges and opportunities are seen in the sky of Nepalese foreign policy. The major emerging challenges of Nepalese foreign policy are to balance the foreign policy with India and China continuation of independent foreign policy, recognize and prioritize the national interest, modernization of foreign policy, political consensus, national unity, political consensus, and good leadership, successful conduction of economic diplomacy, etc. Diplomacy is one of the powerful means or instruments of achieving the goals of foreign policy. The goals of foreign policy are guided by the national interests of concerned states. Diplomats are the actors who plays role according to the foreign policy of the concern state. Diplomats have to perform different functions and discharge different duties with their different roles and capacities. In other words, it is the task for the diplomat to act in different capacities and to play different a role because diplomacy itself is a serious business which requires different capacities and role by the diplomats. The major responsibility of diplomat is the promotion and protection of the national interests of Nepal. Therefore, the proficient diplomat should require making diplomacy effective.

EVOLUTION OF JAPAN’S PACIFIST TO REALIST DIPLOMACY: FROM YOSHIDA SHIGERU TO FUMIO KISHIDA

The paper seeks to answer two questions. What are the newer security policies promoted by Japan and are they significant in empowering Tokyo to become an international security and foreign policy leader? In order to answer these questions, the paper examined the implementation of realism diplomacy through actions taken in the past as well as present. Findings suggests that for decades, the Yoshida Doctrine was the basis for Japan’s foreign policy when the state’s priority was economic prosperity and security. However, the severity of the current security environment surrounding Japan desperately needs a different set of foreign policies and diplomacy. The transformation started during Shinzo Abe’s administration which has now been continued by Fumio Kishida, albeit with slight changes here and there. Kishida’s values based realism policies are aimed at protecting Japan as well as transforming the state into a key global player and contributor in security issues. Strengthening defence capabilities, enhancing multilaterism and improving relations with neighbours have indeed transformed Japan into a more responsible, capable and respected global player. Having said that, Kishida does face numerous challenges internally in sustaining his policy priorities.

New Generation Leadership in Shaping EU Foreign Policy in the Face of the Crisis in Ukraine and the Annexation of Crimea

New Generation Leadership in Shaping EU Foreign Policy in the Face of the Crisis in Ukraine and the Annexation of Crimea

Compromised Stability of Korea's Japan Policy: Two-Level Constraints, Leaders' Incentives, and the GSOMIA Swings

Korea's Japan policy has increasingly become inconsistent and even volatile across time. At the centre of the inconsistency is the Moon Jae-In government's GSOMIA policy. While starting his tenure by deciding to remain in the GSOMIA, the government made 180-degree turn and notified its intention not to renew the agreement when Japan announced export controls. But the decision was completely reversed within months when the government held off ending the agreement. What explains such inconsistency in Korea's Japan policy? To answer this question, the paper proposes a generic model of foreign policy inconsistency, which might be called 'two-level constraint model' and applies it to the case of Korea's GSOMIA policy. The central argument of the model is that the inconsistency in the countries' foreign policy is the result of shifts in foreign policy leaders' incentives, which are affected by the changes in the level of external-and internal political constraints they face. A crucial case study of the Moon Jae-In government's GSOMIA policy finds strong evidence that lends a support for the argument. The paper concludes by offering both a short summary and policy implications.

Большая Евразия в условиях новой «холодной войны»: вызов или возможность?

The Greater Eurasian Partnership project, put forward back in 2016, has become one of Russia's key initiatives to build its version of a broad regionalism covering a significant part of the continent. The launch of the Special Military Operation and the deepening of the Russian-Western confrontation has created and continues to create huge structural changes in the global and regional international system. It also brings serious adjustments to Russia's foreign policy, its objective capabilities and subjective perception of its initiatives. The aim of this study is to determine the prospects of the Greater Eurasia concept under the changing geopolitical conditions of 2016-2022. It provides a brief overview of the conditions in which Eurasian regionalism developed during the period under review; traces the development of the Greater Eurasia concept in Russian official and expert discourse, shows how the ideological content of the initiative developed, how the initially widely interpreted concept crystallised; considers the achievements in the implementation of the concept, among which the most prominent is the "narrative expansion" on various international platforms, including not only within the framework of the EAEU promoted by Russia, but also within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union. In order to fulfil the objectives of this study, the authors relied on the analysis of statements of public figures of the Russian Federation and other states at international events and publicist literature, analytical articles in scientific journals and press, official documents and statements of international organisations. The main conclusion of the study is the ambiguity of the situation in which the concept of Greater Eurasia has found itself under conditions of increasing geopolitical confrontation and the relatively modest results of its implementation in recent years. At the same time, one cannot help but notice that the increasingly complex conditions can be an incentive for the evolution and concretisation of the concept, as well as the adaptation of the foreign policy leadership's approach to its implementation. Thus, we can say that despite the difficult conditions, the concept can still claim to be a great future.

Foreign Policy Theories: A Review

Foreign Policy Analysis brings together many interpretations of foreign policy decision-making and one of them is the psychological aspect of decision-makers and leaders in the system. Deciphering a leader’s worldview is not easy as most researchers do not have access to analyze them. Sos, many models have been created to answer such puzzling questions and analyze the behavior of foreign policy leaders. This paper follows three such models: Leadership Trait Analysis, Rubicon Model of War, and Operational Code Analysis to compare which model explains the psychological aspect of foreign policy decision-making most effectively. The paper uses qualitative research methodology with the help of existing literature. The paper recognizes that there are many other models and tries to find similarities and build bridge of relevance with psychological aspects of a leader with their surroundings, pressure from parties, individual traits, etc. This paper lays an observation of how psychological aspect is not an independent variable in decision making, rather it is affected by the surrounding in which it persists.

Premier Japonii Abe Shinzō jako światowy przywódca Wolnego i Otwartego Indo-Pacyfiku

Prime Minister of Japan, as the global leader of Free and Open Indo-Pacific This article attempts to summarize the debate on the legacy of Prime Minister Abe Shinzō (1954–2022) and to assess his impact on state policy, with a particular focus on foreign policy. Abe was assassinated on July 8, 2022, during an electoral campaign two days before the elections to the lower house of parliament. His death helped to secure the majority for the ruling Liberal-Democratic Party, but also sent a wave of shock and disbelief, as Japan is one of the safest countries in the world, while Abe was one of the most prominent and influential politicians. But the former prime minister was also a controversial figure due to both his decisive style of leadership as well the scope and depth of policy initiatives that he undertook during the two terms in office in 2006–2007 and 2012–2020, which often crossed the boundaries of what is acceptable in Japanese political discourse. Many of these reforms had been initiated much earlier, but it was Abe who gave them catchy names and interpretative frameworks, including, for example, Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP). The article concludes that while the assessments of the domestic reforms are divided, the evaluations of his achievements in the field of foreign policy and political leadership receive, generally, the highest scores. Moreover, the article suggests that the political vacuum left by Abe’s death constitutes both an opportunity and a challenge for the incumbent Prime Minister Kishida Fumio.

Global Norm Diffusion of LGBTI Diplomacy

Summary This article examines the genesis of LGBTI diplomacy across ministries of foreign affairs (MFA s). Examining primarily Sweden and the United States, insights are provided into early LGBTI diplomatic adoption in the 2000 s. It analyses how foreign policy leaders have peer-pressured, inspired and influenced another, and continue to do so, to include LGBTI rights into their foreign policy agendas. As a former US diplomat and scholar, the author utilises primary source data and high-level interviews from the US, Sweden and the EU. Findings indicate that Swedish diplomats played a unique role in norm entrepreneurship in the development of global LGBTI diplomacy. Diplomats across North America and the EU replicated Sweden’s policy framing and programmatic strategies for global LGBTI rights. From the State Department side, once US diplomats joined the small community of nations engaged in LGBTI diplomacy, US political influence served to legitimise and further prioritise LGBTI rights across global institutions.

Does Public Opinion Affect the Preferences of Foreign Policy Leaders? Experimental Evidence from the UK Parliament

Does Public Opinion Affect the Preferences of Foreign Policy Leaders? Experimental Evidence from the UK Parliament

The Energy Factor of Modern Geopolitics: an attempt at a cognitive Approach

Energy resources are becoming an increasingly politicized commodity, which at the same time retains special technical and economic characteristics, which complicates the work of the foreign policy leadership. Using a cognitive approach to foreign policy analysis, the authors conduct a study of the relationship between energy and foreign policy through the prism of different cognitive structures used by subjects to assess the landscape of the world energy. On this conceptual basis, the authors explore the evolution of the relationship between energy and foreign policy: how much energy is a useful tool of foreign policy, and, conversely, how deeply the goals of energy policy are embedded in foreign policy and affect the sphere of energy security. The main results of this study should be considered the conclusion of the authors that in order to distinguish energy as a foreign policy area, it is useful to distinguish between short-term and long-term energy vulnerability. The degree of long–term vulnerability is determined by the availability of real alternatives - the ability to diversify energy routes and sources. Thus, energy security is the dominant, but not the only factor determining energy as an area of foreign policy. The problem of energy sustainability is penetrating deeper into the world foreign policy agenda, since it is related to energy independence. Thus, depending on the influence of environmental beliefs on political, economic and social structures, energy sustainability can affect energy needs, energy imports, and hence energy independence. In addition, discussing the importance of energy sustainability, first of all it is necessary to focus on the problem of security, since energy sustainability is associated with the influence of internal resource consumption on the level of energy independence, and energy security focuses on the influence of external factors on ensuring sufficient energy supplies, and hence on energy independence.

Energy security issues in US and EU foreign policy: comparative analysis

Energy resources are becoming an increasingly politicized commodity, which at the same time retains special technical and economic characteristics, which complicates the work of the foreign policy leadership. The authors, using a comparative method, conduct a study of the relationship between energy and foreign policy in the EU and the USA through the prism of different cognitive structures used by subjects to assess the landscape of global energy. On this conceptual basis, the authors explore the evolution of the relationship between energy and foreign policy in the EU and the United States: to what extent energy is a useful tool of foreign policy, and, conversely, how deeply the goals of energy policy are embedded in foreign policy. By making such a comparison, the authors identify differences and potential similarities between the EU and the US in this area. Thus, comparing the approaches of the USA and the EU, one can see a tendency towards their convergence. Despite the significant difference in the energy landscape of the EU and the United States, Brussels and Washington agreed that they included a common vision of the global energy architecture in their foreign policy. The use of energy as a political tool, at least in rhetoric, was condemned by both sides. Nevertheless, at the national level, energy issues in the EU are often determined by the foreign policy considerations of a particular country. It is also worth remembering that LNG exports from the United States to Europe are considered to a certain extent as a means of increasing competition for Russian natural gas, as a way to provide US allies with an alternative and help them reduce dependence on Russia, sometimes even as an energy weapon, but in any case as a very effective foreign policy tool.

A new and alternative leadership model to analyze the role of leaders in foreign policy

The role of leaders in foreign policy analysis has an extensive literature and comprises subfields. Operational code and leadership trait analysis are prominent qualitative methods used in the field. However, the changing nature of international relations encouraged a rethink of the role of leadership in foreign policy and the analysis approach. In this respect, this article aims to introduce a new alternative leadership model, which is called the SNA Leadership Model, developed with four dimensions of; i) contextual background of the country, ii) personal background of the leader, iii) approaches and behaviors, and iv) reflections of background in making foreign policy. The model is developed as a new perspective about the role of leaders in foreign policy through an eclectic and holistic approach.

Signaling Woman and Leader: Navigating the Double Bind as a Foreign Policy Decisionmaker

ABSTRACT The effects of gender on foreign policy decision-making is an understudied topic. While some research has examined the role of women chief executives in conflict, little research has looked at what role women defense and foreign affairs ministers play on outcomes. In this article, we examine the role that women chief executives, defense ministers, and foreign affairs ministers play in both conflictual and cooperative foreign policies. Specifically, we ask whether women foreign policy leaders are more likely to enact foreign policy decisions and whether they will be more extreme in their decisions. Past research posits that women leaders face a double-bind. Women must be both leader and woman while in office. We argue that this pressure will affect the decisions women make in foreign policy. We examine this relationship from 1980 to 2008 and find that women foreign policy leaders are different from men; they are more active in conflictual foreign policy and have more extreme cooperative foreign policy.

Feminist digital diplomacy and foreign policy change in Sweden

This article analyses how the launch of Sweden’s feminist foreign policy marked a change in Sweden’s digital diplomatic efforts. It draws on three strands of research: digital diplomacy, foreign policy analysis (FPA) and feminist scholarship. Informed by FPA, the article explores the relevance of political leadership, bureaucratic agency and political context as drivers of policy change, and, specifically, Sweden’s feminist digital diplomacy. The article provides an empirical case analysis of Sweden’s foreign policy change and conduct of digital diplomacy during the period 2006–2020. It draws on documents available on the official websites of the Government Offices of Sweden and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, including sites such as SwedenAbroad and Swedish Foreign Policy Stories. The article concludes that Sweden acted on a window of opportunity in global politics, which advanced a novel feminist digital diplomacy. Sweden’s competitive edge was based on a strong transformative political leadership in foreign policy, state feminism and an early engagement of digital diplomatic management of its state image online.

Delighted for a dairy queen in Egypt: US foreign policy leadership discourse in the Middle East during Arab Spring

ABSTRACT Ample studies scrutinized what the Arab Spring meant for communication and politics in the Middle East and beyond. The rhetoric of the U.S. ambassadors stationed in those countries during the Arab Spring, however, remains understudied. Applying critical discourse analysis to the communications of the U.S. ambassadors in Egypt, Kuwait, Tunisia, and Bahrain during the Arab Spring shows that the U.S. ambassadors did not support these movements, but they used them to recruit the countries into the fold of global neoliberalism during an unstable period.

The good, the bad and the sofa: Order of protocol among EU leaders in the context of the Union's external representation

ABSTRACT The joint visit by European Council President Michel and Commission President von der Leyen to Turkey in April 2021 sparked a heated discussion on the EU's diplomatic protocol rules. The reason: the seating arrangements provided when the two met with Turkish President Erdoğan. Michel and Erdoğan sat on chairs, while von der Leyen was given a sofa, implying a lower rank. This triggered a diplomatic incident between the EU and Turkey and increased intra-institutional tensions in Brussels. This article analyses EU protocol rules and explains the order of precedence of its leaders in foreign policy. It argues that EU protocol rules lay out a clearer hierarchy for its leaders than what was implied in the aftermath of the incident. However, the rank that the Commission President holds when he/she is representing the EU externally together with the European Council President requires clarification since their respective foreign policy competencies are different.

‘Small sees big’: international order through small state leaders’ insights via the intellectual propaganda of Czechoslovak, Ghanaian and Singaporean leaders

ABSTRACT The study of small state perceptions of international order has been much neglected. Small state leaders are intellectual heavyweights in a disproportionate relationship to their respective sovereign territorial domains. To navigate the treacherous currents of international order, they rely on their own synthesised views of manoeuvrable spaces amongst great powers. Simultaneously, they are also reflective of the limits of global institutional governance. Moreover, small state leaders frequently weigh international order in moral terms. The intellectual propaganda of charismatic and authoritative foreign policy leaders from then-Czechoslovakia, Ghana and Singapore will be read to illustrate these insights. The conclusion will suggest that small state theorising can enrich mainstream IR theory as a result of these perspectives from small state actorness.

Commanding Support: Values and Interests in the Rhetoric of Alliance Politics

ABSTRACT How can democratic governments convince their citizens to support a costly military alliance? We theorize about two rhetorical tools that foreign policy leaders have historically used to achieve this goal: instrumental cues emphasizing national interests and ideational cues highlighting shared values. We then assess the effects of these appeals in various forms and contexts by analyzing two original survey experiments fielded in the United States. Our analysis shows that alliance rhetoric – whether positive or negative – can sway public support for alliances. Positive appeals to both interests and values raise citizen approval for maintaining a costly alliance in times of peace and during an active crisis, though their effects are slightly muted in a crisis. We also find that negative rhetoric erodes public support for alliances, but only under limited conditions: negative rhetoric affects public support for peace-time alliance policies but not for defending an ally during a crisis, and its effect disappears in the presence of positive rhetoric. The findings contribute to literatures on the domestic politics of international institutions and the role of political communication in foreign policy.

Charismatic leadership in foreign policy

Abstract Charismatic leadership is an integral yet understudied aspect of foreign policy in liberal democratic states. Combining insights from recent developments on charismatic leadership in organization and management studies with literature on foreign policy, we construct a novel theoretical framework for understanding how foreign policy leaders exercise charismatic leadership. We argue that charismatic leadership makes sense of who ‘we’ are and where we are going through communicative practices. We specify these practices and discuss why charismatic leadership is important in foreign policy analysis; what it is; and how and why sense-making matters for a charismatic leadership style. We contribute with new empirical knowledge by probing our theoretical propositions in a comparative case-study of the charismatic leadership practices of Donald Trump and Angela Merkel. The case-studies illustrate the importance of charismatic communication for both leaders, while disclosing variations in both the ‘thickness’ of charismatic leadership practices and their compatibility with rational legal authority and liberal democratic values.